With practically no time to prepare southern Texas was hit by Hermine recently.  The Associated Press had this to say:

“The Hermine-fueled flooding caught much of Texas by surprise and forced more than 100 high-water rescues, though not all were successful. Flash flooding has killed at least two motorists and others are still missing.”

When this Tropical Storm hit, it happened so quick that for most people you were either already prepared or it was too late.

It was an interesting storm because Hermine packed a pretty light punch when it made landfall late Monday, so light that many Texas residents were shocked and totally unprepared for the sudden flooding that happened on Wednesday.

Hermine was the third tropical system this year to hit the Rio Grande Valley, which encompasses northeastern Mexico and southeastern Texas. The storm struck the flood-prone area just after the cleanup finished from Hurricane Alex at the start of the summer and an unnamed tropical depression in July.

I can’t help but wonder, of the people in southeastern Texas, how many were ahead of the game and ready before the first storm hit?  How many then got ready after the second storm?  And now, after three storms just this summer, how many people will decide that now’s the time to get ready.

I don’t know what you call it, but for some reason there’s something in us humans, that by nature keeps us from doing the things that need to be done.  What’s ironic about it, is that it’s not like most of us haven’t already experienced a disaster.

It seems that after a disaster subsides, we drop back into complacency.  It’s as if we convince ourselves that “Lightning won’t strike twice” that we’ll certainly only experience one major disaster in our life time.

Here’s the great news, by recognizing this tendency we allow ourselves to do something about it.  We can acknowledge our complacency and change our behavior.  In this case, changing our behavior means do something about it today because we never know what tomorrow will bring.